Paper towels are perhaps the most useful and ubiquitous item for cleaning in modern kitchens. Typically, people mount paper towels horizontally to a wall a few feet from their kitchen sinks or place them on a stand-alone holder that is placed on a kitchen counter taking up valuable space. Likewise, kitchen towels and rubber gloves are typically draped over the edge of a kitchen sink after use or over the door of a kitchen cabinet to dry for later use.
Typical dish racks consist of an area to place recently washed and dripping wet dishware or cookware which are left to air dry or are temporarily placed in a dish rack until dried by means of a hand towel. A dish rack is placed directly adjacent to the kitchen sink in order to collect the dripping run off onto a dish tray which redirects the dripping water back into the sink. Most washes result in food particles being rinsed into the sink.
For people who wash and dry dishes by hand, and who do not have access to a garbage disposal system directly in the sink, food particles must get scooped up and transported to a garbage can, many times resulting in some of the food inadvertently being dropped onto the kitchen floor. Moreover, use of the devices of the past typically result in water droplets being sprinkled onto kitchen floors either from the drying cloths and gloves, or from a user's wet hands as he or she reaches for a paper towel. The floor directly in front of a kitchen sink can be one of the most germ laden and wet part of the entire house.